


an introduction to dexterity

by KareliaSweet



Series: teach me to be brave [2]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Bickering, Fluff, M/M, Poetry, Romantic Gestures
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-13
Updated: 2017-01-13
Packaged: 2018-09-17 08:18:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9313220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KareliaSweet/pseuds/KareliaSweet
Summary: Derek's poem mentioned at the end of "but fuck it, here we go". Dex is salty because Dex.





	

**Author's Note:**

> poetry is terrifying and I'm still not sure what it is.

_my lover_

an introduction to “ **dexterity** ”, a collection by derek malik nurse.

.....

my lover wrote me a poem once  
but that is not where we began

_see--_

my lover hated me once  
he hated me like an addict hates his drug  
like an author hates a blank page  
with inevitability, and rage, and recalcitrant desire  
he hated me with such affection  
I nearly died from it  
breathless with wanting

_but--_

my lover trusted me once  
with the storm of his heart  
it was not easily won  
and he kept it close to him still  
we shared his heart in silence and shadow  
in dark places that could not names us  
he called me _darling_ then, and _sweets_  
his words were steps  
and each time he spoke them I ascended

_still--_

my lover left me once  
the darkness we had shared became a blindness  
my stumbling became a fall  
I did not see how high I had climbed  
until I felt the rush of ground toward me  
when I landed  
the bruises pressed deep like thumbs

_yet--_

my lover wrote me a poem once  
he spoke it haltingly under spotlights  
his hands trembling  
he poured bravery from his mouth  
and his eyes were fierce as tigers  
as he spoke his hands grew steady as cliffsides  
firm as the mountain I was scaling  
back to him

_then--_

my lover kissed me once  
it erased all kisses before it  
greater than all shared victories  
his lips on mine were a blanket  
covering me and returning me  
to a home I never knew was mine  
his mouth tasted like his favorite candy  
like saltwater mixed between us

_and--_

my lover trusted me once  
the shape of his mouth unfolded to mine  
on my tongue were his secrets  
many and precious  
I took each one and folded them carefully  
as lovers are meant to do  
swallowed them down and  
held them in my breast  
where they sat, red  
behind my beating heart

_so--_

I wrote my lover a poem once  
to tell him that I love him still with  
an infinity I have yet to earn  
I wrote him a poem, and another, and another  
the words loosed themselves from my fingers  
until they became a blanket for us both  
I speak them quietly  
delivering my secrets into his skin  
he folds them carefully  
my lover  
my love

my will

 

“I still can’t believe you wrote an entire damn collection about me.”

“Of course I did, babe.”

“Twenty-seven poems!”

“I love you a lot.”

“Twenty-fuckin-seven.”

“What’s wrong with twenty-seven?”

“…”

“Will, don’t you dare--”

“You just had to fucking outdo me didn’t you?”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake.”

“I write you one heartfelt poem and you go and write an entire goddamn book.”

“Don’t be an asshole.”

“Don’t call me an asshole!”

“Or what, asshole?”

“Or I’ll tell your readers, asshole.”

“They already know.”

“That you’re an asshole?”

“That someone is.”

“You think you’re so fucking cute, don’t you?”

“I mean…”

“Yeah, you kinda are.”

“Kiss me.”

“Make me.”

“Okay.”

“…”

“…”

“I’m still _your_ asshole.”

“Don’t you forget it.”

**Author's Note:**

> flails and comments and kudos are my dearest friends and so are you.


End file.
